Michigan is paying its head coach less, and its assistants more. Thus is the trade-off when you lose John Beilein and hire assistants who have held head college jobs and sat on NBA benches.
Juwan Howard, introduced last month as the Wolverines’ new basketball coach, will make $11.2 million over a five-year deal, per his memorandum of understanding. The deal was obtained by The Daily via a Freedom of Information Act request.
Annually, Howard’s deal starts at $2 million, going up by $100,000 in each of the five years. Unlike Beilein’s contract, it features buyouts for both parties. Should Howard be fired without cause in his first year, it will cost the Michigan athletic department $5 million. That number drops by $1 million in each year of his deal.
On the other side, if Howard leaves the Wolverines “for other basketball related employment,” he will owe the athletic department half of the University’s buyout for that year. The lack of a similar clause in the deal Beilein signed last summer allowed him to leave Michigan for the Cleveland Cavaliers without any financial consequence. If Howard, who has interviewed for multiple NBA head coaching jobs, including this offseason, does the same thing, it will cost him.
Though Howard’s annual salary is significantly less than the $3.8 million Beilein was earning, Michigan upped its assistant coaching pool by $275,000.
Saddi Washington, the only assistant coach retained from Beilein’s staff, saw his annual salary raised from $305,000 to $330,000. As for the new guys, Phil Martelli will earn $450,000 per year and Howard Eisley $375,000, per their memorandums of understanding.
Last year, assistants Luke Yaklich and DeAndre Haynes earned $300,000 and $275,000, respectively, with Washington as the highest-paid assistant. Martelli now holds that title, in line with his long career coaching Saint Joseph’s.
All three assistants are on two-year deals, with the University holding an option for a third year.